Sheltered Instruction Observation
Protocol
When I say go:
 Stand up
 Put your hand up in the air
 Find a close partner who has a different
teaching assignment
 Give a high five
 Sit together
 Share the best part of your weekend
Content You will be able to
monitor a lesson to
determine if delivery
supports the
objectives.
 You will be able to list
strategies for
improving student
time-on-task
throughout a lesson.
Language You will evaluate and
discuss the success of
a lesson.
 You will explain what
might have gone
wrong and how it
could be improved.
•Content Objectives Clearly
Supported by Lesson Delivery
•Language Objectives Clearly
Supported by Lesson Delivery
•Students Engaged Approximately
90%-100% of the Lesson
•Pacing of the Lesson Appropriate to
the Students’ Ability Levels
Written, student-friendly objectives:
 remind us of the focus of the lesson,
providing a structure for classroom
procedures.
 allow students to know the direction of the
lesson.
 help students stay on task.



Lang. Obj. may be related to an ESL strand.
(Students will write to communicate with
different audiences for different reasons.)
Lang. Obj. may be related to teachers’ scope
and sequence of language skills that their
own students need to develop. (Students will
make connections between text/self and
text/world.
Lang. Obj. must be addressed explicitly
during the lesson and reviewed at the end.



SIOP lessons are most effective when they
include both content and language objectives.
If you’re having difficulty writing objectives in
student-friendly language, ask a colleague who
has experience.
If you’re not able to meet both objectives,
evaluate whether the activities took too long or
the discussion got off track.
Students are engaged if they are:
 following the lesson.
 responding to teacher directions.
 performing activities as expected.
Activities such as Think-Pair-Share and Chunk
and Chew give all students the opportunity
to think and speak.



English learners cannot afford to have valuable
class time squandered through boredom,
inattention, socializing or other off-task
behaviors.
They also lose much needed instruction when
teachers are ill-prepared, have poor classroom
management skills or spend excessive amounts
of time managing materials.
It is essential that we minimize these behaviors
and maximize time spent actively engaged in
instruction.
Allocated time- reflects decisions teachers
make regarding the amount of time spent
studying a topic and a given academic task.
*Effective Sheltered Instruction teachers
plan for and deliver lessons that are balanced
between teacher presentation of information
and opportunities for students to practice and
apply the information in meaningful ways.
2. Engaged time- refers to the time students are
actively participating in instruction during
the time allocated.
 Research has consistently shown that the
more actively students participate in the
instructional process, the more they achieve.
 Instruction that is understandable, creates
opportunities for students to talk about the
lesson’s concepts, and that provides hands-on
activities to reinforce learning grabs their
attention and keeps them more actively
engaged.
3. Academic learning time- focuses on student
time-on-task when the task is related to
materials on which students will be
assessed.
 Creative, fun activities are not effective if
they are unrelated to the content and
language objectives.
When you hear the tone, stand up and mix
around the room.
When you hear the tone again, FREEZE!
Answer the question I ask you, look at the key
for the corresponding number.
Get into a group with that number of people.
Extra students go to Lost and Found.
In your group, put your heads together and
make a list of strategies for improving
student time-on-task throughout a lesson.
(Don’t forget to include the SIOP strategies that
you’ve learned!)
Pacing refers to the rate at which
information is presented during a lesson.
 Pace depends on the nature of the lesson’s
content as well as the level of students’
background knowledge.
 It can be challenging to find a pace that
doesn’t present information too quickly but is
brisk enough to keep the students’ interest.
*Wasting 5 minutes a day over 180 days adds
up to 15 hours!







Choose a number from the box.
Line up in sequence.
#1 chooses a table and sits down.
#2 chooses, same table or different.
Continue in order.
Only 4 at each table.



Review the 4th grade Gold Rush lesson and
your individual teacher’s delivery.
When you’re done, use the rubric to assess the
lesson in each of the four areas.
Discuss your evaluations with your group.
Content You will be able to
monitor a lesson to
determine if delivery
supports the
objectives.
 You will be able to list
strategies for
improving student
time-on-task
throughout a lesson.
Language You will evaluate and
discuss the success of
a lesson.
 You will explain what
might have gone
wrong and how it
could be improved.